Data delivery over a cellular radio network

ABSTRACT

In a digital broadband broadcasting system, in which information is transmitted and received periodically in bursts to reduce receiver power consumption, time-slice information is provided from the transmitter to the receiver. The time-slice information can include information from which the receiver can determine when a subsequent transmission burst will be transmitted. The time-slice information can include a burst duration, an amount of time between original bursts, the time between an original burst and a copy of the burst, and numbering of original bursts. This type of time-slice information can be placed into packet headers, such as one or more bytes reserved, but not used, for media access control addressing.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to transmission of audio data, video data,control data, or other information and, in particular, to signalingtime-slice information for efficiently using information broadcastingresources.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Video streaming, data streaming, and broadband digital broadcastprogramming is increasing in popularity in network applications. Anexample of a digital broadband broadcast network enjoying popularity inEurope and elsewhere world-wide is Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) which,in addition to the delivery of televisual content, is also capable ofdelivering data. The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) hasalso defined a digital broadband broadcast network. Both ATSC and DVBuse a containerization technique in which content for transmission isplaced into MPEG-2 packets that act as data containers. Thus, thecontainers can be used to transport any suitably digitized dataincluding, but not limited to High Definition TV, multiple channelStandard definition TV (PAL/NTSC or SECAM), broadband multimedia dataand interactive services, and the like. Transmitting and receivingdigital broadband programming usually requires the transmission andreception equipment to be powered up continuously so as to be able tosend or receive all the streaming information. However, in the currentstate of the art, power consumption levels, especially in the front endof a digital broadcast receiver, are relatively high.

Reducing these power-consumption levels would therefore improve theoperating efficiency of the broadcasting equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To reduce receiver power consumption in a digital broadband broadcastingsystem, information is transmitted and received periodically in bursts.The term “periodically” refers to something that happens repeatedly atintervals that can change. In such a system, a transmitter cancommunicate to a receiver accurate information regarding when thereceiver should expect to receive transmission bursts. Providing thistype of information is referred to as providing or signaling time-sliceinformation. Based on received time-slice signaling information, thereceiver can be powered down, which can include being put into a reducedpower-consumption state, during idle time between receiving transmissionbursts. This advantageously results in reduced power consumption by thereceiver.

In accordance with various illustrative embodiments of the invention,time-slice information is added to packet headers. The time-sliceinformation may be relative timing information that corresponds to anamount of time between transmission of a current packet of a currentburst from a data service and transmission of a first-transmitted packetof a subsequent burst from the data service.

A transmitter-system component, such as a multi-protocol encapsulator,can encode time-slice information while forming packets to betransmitted in bursts. The encapsulator can include an elastic bufferthat stores data from one or more information service providers. Such anelastic buffer can be large enough to store at least two bursts worth ofinformation from substantially all of the information services for whichthe transmitter is transmitting bursts of information. When theencapsulator has received at least two bursts worth of information froman information service provider and has received whatever data thetransmitter will send between two such bursts, the encapsulator candetermine how much time will elapse between transmission of the firstburst and transmission of the second burst. This time information can beadded to one or more of the packets of a transmission burst. In thismanner, encapsulated packets can carry accurate information regardinghow much time will elapse between receiving a current burst andreceiving a subsequent burst.

Time-slice information can include the duration of a burst, an amount oftime between original bursts, the time between an original burst and acopy of the burst, and numbering of original bursts. This type oftime-slice information can be placed into packet headers, such as one ormore bytes reserved, but not used, for media access control addressing.

Computer-executable instructions for signaling time-slice information,in accordance with the invention, are stored on computer-readable media.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated by way of example and not limited in theaccompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similarelements and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram of a conventional streaming digitalbroadcasting system;

FIG. 2 shows a waveform of the streaming signal output by theconventional digital broadcasting system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a digital broadband broadcast terminal including a receiverand client;

FIG. 4 shows a first preferred embodiment of a time-slicing digitalbroadcasting system in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing changes over time in the contents of anelastic buffer in the broadcasting system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows the transmission rate of a signal output by a transmitterin the system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a table that lists fields and their respective sizes for adata broadcast descriptor;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are tables that show various multi protocolencapsulation-related information;

FIG. 10 shows coding related to the use of various media access controladdressing bytes;

FIG. 11 is a graph showing changes over time in the contents of areceiver elastic buffer in the broadcasting system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 12 shows the transmission rate of a time-division multiplexedsignal output by a transmitter in the system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 13 shows an alternative preferred embodiment of a time-slicingdigital broadcasting system;

FIG. 14 is a graph showing changes over time in the contents of anelastic buffer in the broadcasting system of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a graph showing changes over time in the outputs of theelastic buffers and in the contents of a network operator elastic bufferin the system of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 16 shows the transmission rate of a time-division multiplexedsignal output by a transmitter in the system of FIG. 13.

FIG. 17 is a graph of bit rate against time for data of a first dataservice and of a second data service of a video service provider.

FIG. 18 is a graph of bit rate against time for output of elastic bufferA of FIG. 13.

FIG. 19 is similar to FIG. 17 and is a graph of bit rate against timefor data of a third data service and of a fourth data service from videoservice provider B of FIG. 13.

FIG. 20 is similar to FIG. 18 and is a graph of bit rate against timefor output of elastic buffer B of FIG. 13.

FIG. 21 is similar to FIGS. 18 and 20 and is a graph of bit rate againsttime for the output signal from the network operator elastic buffer ofFIG. 13.

FIG. 22 shows an MPE packet including an MPE packet payload and a set oftime-slicing parameters that can be used in various permutations andcombinations for signaling time-slice information.

FIG. 23 shows down numbering of MPE packets within a time slice of MPEpackets.

FIG. 24 shows a time-slice-boundary indication of a packet to indicatethat the packet is the first packet of the burst of packets.

FIG. 25 shows next burst indications that indicate whether the nextburst will be a copy of a previously transmitted burst.

FIG. 26 shows signaling of an amount of time between transmission of acurrent packet and the first packet of the next original burst.

FIG. 27 shows signaling of an amount of time between transmission of acurrent packet and the first packet of the next copy burst.

FIG. 28 shows signaling of an amount of time between transmission of acurrent packet and the first packet of the next burst.

FIG. 29 shows numbering of original and copy bursts.

FIG. 30 illustrates how time-slice information may be contained in theadaptation field of an MPEG II transport stream packet in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of a conventional streaming digitalbroadcasting system 10 in which an information signal 21 originating atan information service provider 11 is transmitted to a client accessinga digital broadcast receiver 15. The information signal 21 is typicallysent from the service provider 11 to a transmitter 13 over a link, whichcan be an Internet link. The transmitter 13 broadcasts the informationsignal to the receiver 15 as a streaming signal 23, typically by meansof a broadcast antenna (not shown).

In a conventional signal transmission application, the transmitter 13provides a continuous or a slowly varying data stream having a bandwidthof approximately 100 Kbit/sec, such as shown in FIG. 2. The streamingsignal 23 thus exhibits the same transmission rate of 100 Kbit/sec. Thedigital broadcast receiver 15 necessarily operates in a constantpowered-on mode in order to receive all the information provided by thestreaming signal 23, which may also include one or more other datastreams provided by one or more other information service providers (notshown).

With respect to signaling time-slice information, usingabsolute-clock-time information may be undesirable because, in digitalbroadband broadcasting systems, accurate enough clock information maynot be available. Typical clock resolution is approximately one second.

There are proposals to add time-slice information into serviceinformation (SI) tables to indicate time-slice information. SI tablesare used to carry control information such as tuning parameters, digitalbroadband broadcast service parameters, subtitling in digitaltelevision, and electronic-program-guide information. A problem withusing SI tables to carry time-slice information is that SI tables aresent independently of time-slice bursts. This means that information cancome during the idle time between two bursts. To reduce powerconsumption, though, the receiver should be able to be shut down,including being put into a reduced-power-consumption mode, during thisidle time between transmission bursts.

Referring to FIG. 3, a terminal 12, which can be a mobile terminal, suchas a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a portablecomputer, and the like, includes a receiver 14, a client 16, and anantenna 19. A digital broadband broadcast signal 22 is also shown. Inthe receiver 14, a processor can perform part of the data pathprocessing and can handle lower level protocols, such as layer 2information, which can include digital video broadcasting digitalstorage media command and control (DVB DSM-CC) section protocol packets,service information (SI) tables, and multi protocol encapsulated (MPE)packets. Software running on the client 16 can handle layer 3 and higherlayers including TCP/IP and application-specific layers. The term “lowerlayer protocols,” as used herein, refers to protocols lower than thenetwork and/or transport layers. Passing time-slice information, whichis specified in absolute—rather than relative—terms, between theprocessors of the receiver 14 and the client 16 typically introducesundesirable latency into the time-slice information due to potentiallyvariable latency between the two processors.

The amount of time it takes to transfer data between processors maycontribute to this type of undesirable latency. For example, when afirst processor requests a data bus that is shared between the firstprocessor and a second processor, the bus may be busy performing adifferent transfer. This type of situation can introduce a variableamount of latency before the first processor can acquire the data bus toperform the desired data transfer. In addition, software latency may becaused by software not reacting immediately to requests, such as atime-slice-reception interrupt. Delays in servicing interrupts can becaused by execution of non-interruptible software by the receiver 14 orthe client 16 or by both the receiver 14 and the client 16.

There are also proposals to add time slice information into a higherlayer protocol. A problem with these proposed solutions is thathigher-level protocols are handled with higher-level software, which istypically run by the client 16. As discussed above, there is variablelatency when transferring information between the receiver 14 and client16. So, when transferring time-slice information from the client 16 tothe receiver 14, maintaining accurate time information may not bepossible.

Adding time slice information to packet headers and using time-sliceinformation that specifies timing information in relative termsovercomes the various limitations of the proposals discussed above. Therelative timing information can correspond to an amount of time betweentransmission bursts. For instance, for two bursts from a singleinformation service provider, the first burst can carry in its packetheaders information specifying how much later the receiver should expectto receive the second burst.

A transmitter-system component, such as a multi-protocol encapsulator,can encode time-slice information while forming packets to betransmitted in bursts. The encapsulator can add the time-sliceinformation to packet headers. This time-slice information can specifyin relative terms when the transmitter will send a next transmissionburst for the same information service. As described in more detailbelow, the encapsulator can include an elastic buffer that stores datafrom one or more information service providers. Such an elastic buffercan be large enough to store at least two bursts worth of informationfrom substantially all of the information services for which thetransmitter is transmitting bursts of information. When the encapsulatorhas received at least two bursts worth of information from aninformation service provider and has received whatever data thetransmitter will send between two such bursts, the encapsulator candetermine how much time will elapse between transmission of the firstburst and transmission of the second burst. This time information can beadded to one or more of the packets of a transmission burst. In thismanner, encapsulated packets can carry accurate information regardinghow much time will elapse between receiving a current burst andreceiving a subsequent burst. This information can be accurate, becausean encapsulator, as described above, can determine how much data thereis between a current packet and the start of a subsequent burst.

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of a time-slicing digital broadcastingsystem 30, in which time-slice information can be signaled in accordancewith the invention, including a transmitter system 20 and a receiversystem 40. A first information stream originating at a first informationservice provider 17 in the transmitter system 20 is intended fordownstream transmittal to a client using a digital broadcast receiver 41in the receiver system 40. During operation of the transmitter system20, a data signal 25 is received from the first information serviceprovider 17 over a network link. A predetermined interval of thestreaming information in the data signal 25 is initially buffered in afirst elastic buffer 35 as a buffered information interval 27. As willbe apparent, the first elastic buffer 35 may be replaced by any othersuitable type of input buffer, including but not limited to, a first-in,first-out (FIFO) buffer, a ring buffer, or a dual buffer having separateinput and output sections.

In a preferred embodiment, the buffered information interval 27 is thenformatted by using, for example, a multi-protocol encapsulator 37 inaccordance with Section 7 of European Standard EN 301192 “Digital VideoBroadcasting (DVB); DVB specification for data broadcasting.” The firstelastic buffer 35 can be integrated with the multi-protocol encapsulator37 to comprise a single device 39. After encapsulation, themulti-protocol encapsulator 37 sends an encapsulated informationinterval 29 to a digital broadcast transmitter 31 for broadcast to thedigital broadcast receiver 41 as a time-slicing signal 51, as describedin greater detail below.

The amount of information inputted into the first elastic buffer 35 as afunction of time can be represented by a sawtooth waveform 71 shown inthe graph of FIG. 5. As the first service provider 17 supplies the datasignal 25, the data information in the first elastic buffer 35 increasesto a buffer maximum level, here denoted by a first local maximum value73. The buffer maximum level is related to the amount of memorydesignated in the first elastic buffer 35 for storing the firstinformation signal.

The size of the first elastic buffer 35 is generally specified to be atleast as large as the information stream supplied by the serviceprovider 17 in the time interval between successive waveform maxima(e.g., the first local maximum value 73 and a second local maximum value75). The buffered information interval 27 of the first elastic buffer 35is periodically sent via the multi-protocol encapsulator 37 to thedigital broadcast transmitter 31 such that the specified memory capacityin the first elastic buffer 35 is not exceeded. When the bufferedinformation interval 27 is sent to the digital broadcast transmitter 31,the quantity of buffered information remaining in the first elasticbuffer 35 drops to a local minimum value 74, which can be zero.

The first elastic buffer 35 may include an ‘AF’ flag which can be setwhen an “almost full” byte count 79 is reached to indicate when thefirst elastic buffer 35 is about to exceed the designated memorycapacity. Preferably, the process of outputting the buffered informationinterval 27 begins when the AF flag is set. This serves to providestorage capacity for a subsequent interval of the streaming informationsent by the service provider 17 (here represented by the next part ofthe waveform 71). When the next streaming data information interval hasbeen inputted, the buffered information in the first elastic buffer 35reaches a second local maximum value 75 which is subsequently outputtedwhen the AF flag is set, resulting in a second local minimum value 76.The process is repeated, yielding a third local maximum value 77 and athird local minimum value 78.

Each subsequent portion of the streaming data buffered in the firstelastic buffer 35 is thus successively outputted to the digitalbroadcast transmitter 31 for transmission to the digital broadcastreceiver 41. This action produces the time-slicing signal 51, a portionof which is shown in FIG. 6. The time-slicing signal 51 comprises acontinuous series of transmission bursts, exemplified by transmissionbursts 53, 55, and 57. In the example provided, the transmission burst53 corresponds to the buffered information transfer represented by thetransition of the waveform 71 from the local maximum value 73 to thelocal minimum value 74. Likewise, the next transmission burst 55corresponds to the buffered information transfer represented by thetransition of the waveform 71 from the local maximum value 75 to thelocal minimum value 76, and the transmission burst 57 corresponds to thebuffered information transfer represented by the transition from thelocal maximum value 77 to the local minimum value 78.

In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, each of the transmissionbursts 53, 55, and 57 is a 4-Mbit/sec pulse approximately one second induration to provide a transfer of four Mbits of buffered information pertransmission burst. The transmission bursts 53, 55, and 57 are spaced atapproximately 40-second intervals such that the time-slicing signal 51effectively broadcasts at an average signal information transmittal rateof 100 Kbits per second (i.e., the same as the transmittal rate of theincoming streaming signal 23). The 40-second signal segment stored inthe elastic buffer 35 comprises the signal information to be broadcastto the digital broadcast receiver 41 as any one of the transmissionbursts 53, 55, and 57, for example.

An example of encoding time-slice information is provided in the contextof DVB multi protocol encapsulation (WE) of digital video broadcasting(DVB) packets. FIG. 7 is a table that lists fields and their respectivesizes for a data broadcast descriptor in accordance with EN 300468.Data_broadcast_id 80 is a 16-bit field that identifies the databroadcast specification that is used to broadcast the data in thebroadcast network. Allocations of the value of this field are found inETR 162. A Data_broadcast_id Value of 0x0005 is reserved for multiprotocol encapsulation.

The size of a DVB MPE packet header is fixed. This type of packet headerincludes media access control (MAC) address bytes. FIG. 8 is a tablethat depicts syntax of a datagram_section in accordance with EN301192.MAC_address_1 90-1 through MAC_address_6 90-6 are six bytes—some or allof—which are conventionally used for MAC addressing of various networkcomponents.

FIG. 9 is a table that shows the syntax of amultiprotocol_encapsulation_info structure in accordance with EN 301192.A descriptor defines how many of the MAC address bytes are valid for MACaddressing. MAC_address_range 92 is a 3-bit field that indicates thenumber of MAC address bytes that are used for differentiating multicastservices. FIG. 10 shows the coding of the MAC_address-range field 92 ofFIG. 9 in accordance with EN301192. FIG. 10 shows which MAC addressbytes are valid for MAC addressing based on various MAC_address-rangevalues. For a given value of MAC-address range 92, the remaining MACaddressing bytes remain unused. For instance, for a MAC-address rangevalue of 0x01, MAC-address bytes 1 through 5 remain unused. For aMAC-address range value of 0x02, MAC-address bytes 1 through 4 remainunused and so on.

In FIG. 9, there is a 3-bit field 96 marked as reserved. This reservedfield 96 can be used to define different meanings for MAC address bitsbeing used to signal time-slice information. For instance, one or moreof these 3 reserved bits can be used to specify how bytes that arereserved, but not used, for MAC addressing are being used for time-sliceinformation.

FIG. 30 illustrates an embodiment in which time-slice information isincluded in an adaptation field 3002 of an MPEG II transport streampacket. Adaptation field control bits 3004 included in an MPEG II header3006 may be used to signal the presence of the time-slice information inadaptation field 3002. In an illustrative embodiment, adaptation controlfield 3004 includes two bits. A bit value of “00” may indicate that theadaptation field is reserved for future use, a bit value of “01” mayindicate that a payload is present, but an adaptation field is notpresent, a bit value of “10” may indicate that an adaptation field ispresent, but no payload is present, and a bit value of “11” may indicatethat an adaptation field and payload are present.

A terminal 12 may be configured to analyze adaptation field control bits3004 to determine whether or not the adaptation field 3002 is present.When the adaptation field 3002 is present, whether relative timinginformation is present and, if so, how it has been encoded may bedetermined from the adaptation field 3002. If present, relative timinginformation may then be extracted from the adaptation field 3002 for usein the manner described herein. Alternatively, a value of “00” for theadaptation field control bits 3004, may, in the future, be used inconnection with specifying relative timing information.

Time-slice information can include the length of a burst, an amount oftime between original bursts, the time between an original burst and acopy of the burst, and numbering of original bursts. This type oftime-slice information can be placed into packet headers, for instancein the MAC address bytes 90-1 through 90-6 discussed above. Variouscombinations and permutations of this type of time-slice information canbe placed into the packet headers. For example, the length of a burstand the amount of time between original bursts can be used without othertime-slice information. Examples of time-slice information are discussedbelow in more detail in connection with FIGS. 17-29.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the digital broadcast receiver 41 sends thetime-slicing signal 51 to a stream filtering unit 43 to strip theencapsulation from the information signal which had been added by themulti-protocol encapsulator 37. The encapsulation may carry InternetProtocol (IP) packets, for example. In a preferred embodiment, Booleanprotocol filtering is used to minimize the amount of logic needed forfiltering operations performed by the stream filtering unit 43, and thusoptimize the capacity of the digital broadcast receiver 41. A filteredinformation interval is then sent to a receiver elastic buffer 45 whichfunctions to temporarily store the information signal comprising any oneof the transmission bursts 53, 55, and 57 before being sent downstreamto an application processor 47 for conversion into an information datastream 49. This action can be illustrated with reference to the graph ofFIG. 11 in which sawtooth waveform 81 diagrammatically represents as afunction of time the quantity of information signal stored in thereceiver elastic buffer 45. In a preferred embodiment, the size of thereceiver elastic buffer 45 in the receiver system 40 is substantiallythe same as the size of the first elastic buffer 35 in the transmittersystem 20.

When the transmission burst 53 has been received in the receiver elasticbuffer 45, the waveform 81 reaches a first local maximum 83. The bytecount stored in the receiver elastic buffer 45 then decreases from thefirst local maximum 83 to a first local minimum 84 as correspondinginformation is transferred from the receiver elastic buffer 45 to theapplication processor 47. Preferably, the rate at which the contents ofthe receiver elastic buffer 45 is transferred to the applicationprocessor 47 is at least as great as the rate at which data informationis placed into the first elastic buffer 35. This serves to insure thatthe receiver elastic buffer 45 is available to store the nexttransmission burst 55. When the next transmission burst 55 is receivedat the receiver elastic buffer 45, the waveform 81 increases to a secondlocal maximum 85 which decreases to a second local minimum 86 as thereceived information interval is transferred from the receiver elasticbuffer 45 to the application processor 47 for conversion to a datapacket.

The process continues with the next transmission burst 57 producing athird local maximum 87 which decreases to a third local minimum 88.Preferably, the receiver elastic buffer 45 includes an ‘AE’ flag toindicate when an “almost empty” byte count 82 has been reached and an AFflag to indicate when an “almost full” byte count 89 has been reached.As explained in greater detail below, the AE and AF flags can beadvantageously utilized to synchronize the powering up and the poweringdown respectively of the digital broadcast receiver 41 with the timingof incoming transmission bursts, such as the transmission bursts 53, 55,and 57.

The data packets thus being converted from the received informationintervals in the receiver elastic buffer 45 are continuously reformattedinto the information transmission stream 49 by the application processor47 which functions to continuously input data from the receiver elasticbuffer 45. As can be appreciated by one skilled in the relevant art,while the digital broadcast transmitter 31 remains powered-up in atransmission mode during each transmission burst 53, 55, and 57, thedigital broadcast transmitter 31 can be advantageously powered down inthe ‘idle’ time intervals between the transmission bursts 53 and 55, andbetween the transmission bursts 55 and 57 to reduce operational powerrequirements. Powering down can be accomplished, for example, by acontrolled switch as is well-known in the relevant art.

In particular, the digital broadcast transmitter 31 can be powered downafter termination point 61 of transmission burst 53 (shown at t=1 sec),and can remain powered-down until just before initiation point 63 oftransmission burst 55 (shown at t=40 sec). Similarly, the digitalbroadcast transmitter 31 can power down after termination point 65 oftransmission burst 55 (shown at t=41 sec), and can remain powered-downuntil just before initiation point 67 of transmission burst 57 (shown att=80 sec). At the completion of the transmission burst 57, indicated astermination point 69 (shown at t=81 sec), the digital broadcasttransmitter 31 can again be powered down.

Decoding of time-slice information can be done in the applicationprocessor 47. Upon receiving a burst of packets, stream filtering unit43 filters (at least) one time slice and stores the filtered timeslice's information to receiver elastic buffer 45. The stream filteringunit 43 notifies the application processor 47 that a new time slice hasbeen received. The application processor 47 can then decode thetime-slice information and start other processing as appropriate.

An information service provider sets the MAC_IP_mapping_flag 1-bit flag94 (FIG. 9) to ‘1’ if the service uses the IP to MAC mapping asdescribed in IETF RFC 1112. If this flag is set to ‘0’, the mapping ofIP address to MAC address is done outside the scope of the EN 301192.

When receiving IP multicast services, the MAC address is generated fromthe IP address carried inside the data_gram section. So, IP addressinformation is copied to the MAC address bits 90-1 through 90-6. Thereceiver, therefore, can perform address filtering also by using an IPaddress, and in that case all of the MAC address bits can be availablefor carrying time-slice information of for any other purpose.

In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the time-slicing digitalbroadcasting system 30 includes one or more additional serviceproviders, exemplified by a second service provider 18, shown in FIG. 4.The second service provider 18 sends a second data signal 26 to thedigital broadcast transmitter 31 over a network link. The second datasignal 26 received from the second service provider 18 is placed into asecond elastic buffer 36 and likewise encapsulated using, for example, amulti-protocol encapsulator 38. A multiplexer 33 processes theencapsulated signals from the first elastic buffer 35 and the secondelastic buffer 36 into a time-division multiplexed (TDM) signal 91,described in greater detail below, for broadcast to the digitalbroadcast receiver 41.

It should be understood that if only one service provider is sendinginformation to the digital broadcast transmitter 31, the first serviceprovider 17 for example, the multiplexer 33 is not required foroperation of the time-slicing digital broadcasting system 30.Accordingly, in the first preferred embodiment, above, the signal in thefirst elastic buffer 35 can be provided directly to the digitalbroadcast transmitter 31 via the multi-protocol encapsulator 37.

For the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in which two service providers aresupplying information signals, the TDM signal 91, shown in FIG. 12,comprises a continuous series of transmission bursts, includingtransmission bursts 53, 55, and 57 resulting from information signalsprovided by the first elastic buffer 35, interlaced with transmissionbursts 93, 95, and 97 resulting from information signals provided by thesecond elastic buffer 36. In the example provided, each of thetransmission bursts 93, 95, and 97 occurs approximately 10 seconds aftera corresponding transmission burst 53, 55, or 57. As can be appreciatedby one skilled in the relevant art, the disclosed method is not limitedto this 10-second spacing and other temporal spacing values can be usedas desired. Moreover, if additional service providers are included inthe time-slicing digital broadcasting system 30, one or more sets ofinterlaced transmission bursts (not shown) will be included in the TDMsignal 91.

In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the powered-up receivemode of the digital broadcast receiver 41, in FIG. 4, is synchronizedwith a transmission window during which period the digital broadcasttransmitter 31 is transmitting. Thus, for receipt of the time-slicingsignal 51, for example, the digital broadcast receiver 41 remainspowered-up in a receive mode during each incoming transmission burst 53,55, and 57 and can be powered down in the time intervals between thetransmission bursts 53 and 55, and between the transmission bursts 55and 57.

By way of example, such synchronization can be achieved by using burstsizes of either fixed or programmable size, and by using the AE flag and“almost empty” byte count 82, above, as a criterion to power up thedigital broadcast receiver 41 and prepare to receive the nexttransmission burst after fixed or slowly-varying time intervals. Thatis, the digital broadcast receiver 41 acquires informationintermittently broadcast as described above. The client may alsoconfigure the digital broadcast video receiver 41 to tale into accountany transmission delays resulting from, for example, a bit rateadaptation time, a receiver switch-on time, a receiver acquisition time,and/or a bit-rate variation time interval. A typical value for theadaptation time may be about 10 μsec, and for the switch-on times oracquisition times a typical value may be about 200 msec. The digitalbroadcast receiver 41 is thus configured to power-up sufficiently inadvance of an incoming burst to accommodate the applicable delayfactors. Similarly, the AF flag and the “almost full” byte count 89,above, can be used as a criterion to power-up the digital broadcastreceiver 41.

In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, a TDM digitalbroadcasting system 100 is shown in FIG. 13 including a plurality ofservice providers 101-107 sending respective information streams tocorresponding elastic buffers 111-117. The outputs of each of theelastic buffers 111-117 are formatted by means of a plurality ofmulti-protocol encapsulators 109 as described above. The respectiveoutputs 121-127 of the multi-protocol encapsulators 109 are provided toa network operator elastic buffer 131 as shown. The size of theinformation interval stored in any of the elastic buffers 111-117 is afunction of time, as represented by sawtooth waveform 121 in FIG. 14.

The network operator elastic buffer 131 stores a predetermined amount ofbuffered information from each of the elastic buffers 111-117. Theinformation is provided to a multiplexer 133 and sent to a digitalbroadcast transmitter 135 for broadcast as a TDM signal 137. The networkoperator elastic buffer 131 functions to receive and store multipleinputs from each of the elastic buffers 111-117 before outputting to themultiplexer 133. In way of example, the waveform 140 in FIG. 15represents the buffered information as a function of time in the elasticbuffers 111-117. The input 121 received from the elastic buffer 111 isrepresented at local peak value 141 of the waveform 140, the input 123received from the elastic buffer 113 is represented at the local peakvalue 143, the input 125 received from the elastic buffer 115 isrepresented at the local peak value 145, and the input 127 received fromthe elastic buffer 117 is represented at the local peak value 147.

The resulting TDM signal 137 broadcast by the digital broadcasttransmitter 135 is shown in FIG. 16 where the information streamprovided by the service provider 101 appears as transmission bursts 151,153, and 155 (here shown with solid fill for clarity). In a preferredembodiment, the multiplexer bandwidth is approximately 12 Mbit/sec, andtransmission bursts 151, 153, and 155 are correspondingly 12-Mbit/secbursts of approximately one second duration. The transmission burst 151,for example, may comprises three 4-Mbit/sec transmission bursts providedto the network operator elastic buffer 131 by the elastic buffer 111. Asubsequent 12-Mbit/sec transmission burst 161 may comprise three4-Mbit/sec transmission bursts provided to the network operator elasticbuffer 131 by the elastic buffer 113.

In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the transmission burstsoriginating with a particular service provider may comprise a uniquedata stream. For example, the transmission bursts 151, 153, and 155comprise a first data stream, originating at the service provider 17,where the data stream has a burst-on time of about 333 msec and aburst-off time of about 39.667 sec. The first data stream comprisessubsequent transmission bursts occurring precisely every forty seconds(not shown), each transmission burst including information originatingat the service provider 17. Similarly, the transmission burst 161comprises a second data stream along with transmission bursts 163, 165,and subsequent transmission bursts (not shown) occurring every fortyseconds, where the second data stream includes information originatingat the service provider 19. In one alternative embodiment, the digitalbroadcast receiver 41 is synchronized to selectively receive only thefirst data stream, for example. Accordingly, in this embodiment thedigital broadcast receiver 41 is powered-up for at least 333 msec everyforty seconds to receive the transmission bursts 151, 153, 155, andsubsequent first-data-stream transmission bursts, and powered down inthe interval time periods.

Returning now to the example, which was discussed above in connectionwith FIGS. 7-10, of encoding time-slice information in the context ofDVB multi protocol encapsulation (MPE) of digital video broadcasting(DVB) packets, an example of data signals from various transmittersystem components is provided in connection with FIGS. 17-21, whereinvideo service provider A 101 includes a first data service and a seconddata service, and video service provider B 103 includes a third dataservice and a fourth data service. FIG. 17 is a graph of bit rateagainst time for data of a first data service and of a second dataservice of video service provider A 101 of FIG. 13. The bit rate of theoutput signal of service provider A 101 comprises the bit rate 1701 of afirst data service plus the bit rate 1702 of a second data service.

FIG. 18 is a graph of bit rate against time for output of elastic bufferA 111 of FIG. 13. The portions of the signal labeled 1701-1, 1701-2,1701-3, and 1701-4 correspond to data from data service 1 of videoservice provider A 101. The portions of the signal labeled 1702-1,1702-2, 1702-3, and 1702-4 correspond to data from data service 2 ofvideo service provider A 101.

FIG. 19 is similar to FIG. 17. FIG. 19 is a graph of bit rate againsttime for data of a third data service and of a fourth data service fromvideo service provider B 103 of FIG. 13. The bit rate of the outputsignal of service provider B 103 comprises the bit rate 1903 of thethird data service plus the bit rate 1904 of the fourth data service.

FIG. 20 is similar to FIG. 18. FIG. 20 is a graph of bit rate againsttime for output of elastic buffer B 113 of FIG. 13. The portions of thesignal labeled 1903-1, 1903-2, 1903-3, and 1903-4 correspond to datafrom data service 3 of video service provider B 103. The portions of thesignal labeled 1904-1, 1904-2, 1904-3, and 1904-4 correspond to datafrom data service 4 of video service provider B 103.

FIG. 21 is similar to FIGS. 18 and 20. FIG. 21 is a graph of bit rateagainst time for output signal 140 from network operator elastic buffer131 of FIG. 13. The portions of the signal labeled 1701-5, 1701-6,1701-7, and 1701-8 correspond to data from data service 1 of videoservice provider A 101. In accordance with an embodiment of theinvention, the bit rate for these portions of the signal 140 is higherand the duration of each of these portions of the signal 140 is shorterthan the corresponding portions 1702-1, 1702-2, 1702-3, and 1702-4 ofthe signal from data service 1. Similarly, the portions of the signallabeled 1903-5, 1903-6, 1903-7, and 1903-8 correspond to data from dataservice 3 of video service provider B 103. In this manner, the portionsof the data signal 140 shown in FIG. 21 contains data from data services1, 3, 2, and 4 in a repeating pattern.

As discussed above, time-slice information can include the length of aburst, an amount of time between original bursts, the time between anoriginal burst and a copy of the burst, and numbering of originalbursts. FIG. 22 shows a packet 2200 including a packet payload 2220 anda set of time slicing parameters 2202-2218 that can be used in variouspermutations and combinations for signaling time-slice information, asdescribed in more detail below. As will be apparent, time-sliceinformation can be signaled using reserved unused bits of any suitableprotocol, including, but not limited to, digital video broadcastingdigital storage media command and control (DVB DSM-CC) section protocol.

Packet index 2202 can be used for numbering packets within a time sliceor burst of packets. FIG. 23 shows down numbering from 4 to 0 of packets2200-1 through 2200-5 within a time slice 2300 comprising 5 packets2200. Numbering packets down to a predetermined value such as 1 or 0 canbe used to signal the end of a burst of packets.

Similarly packets 2200 can be numbered in ascending order from apredetermined first value to signal the beginning of a burst of packets.

A time-slice-boundary indication 2204 can be used for signaling a firstpacket of a burst of packets or a last packet of a burst of packets.FIG. 24 shows a value of 1 for time-slice-boundary indication 2204-1 ofpacket 2200-1 to indicate that this packet is the first packet of thetime-slice or burst of packets 2400. Similarly, time-slice-boundaryindication 2204-5 of packet 2200-5 could have a different value, forthan packets 2200-1 through 2200-4 to indicate that packet 2200-5 is thelast packet of the burst of packets 2400. The time slice-boundaryindication can be a single bit, in which case it can be used to signaleither the first packet or the last packet of a burst of packets. Byusing a 2-bit time-slice-boundary-2204, both the first and last packetsof a burst of packets can be identified.

When used as an indication of the first packet of a burst of packets,the time-slice-boundary indication 2204 can be combined with the packetindex 2202 in the down-counting mode to dynamically define the number ofpackets in a burst of packets.

Combining the time-slice-boundary indication 2204 with the packet index2202 in the down-counting mode provides a robust way of signaling thebeginning of variable-length bursts of packets having less than or equalto a predetermined maximum number of packets. Similarly, when used as anindication of the last packet of a burst of packets, thetime-slice-boundary indication 2204 can be combined with the packetindex 2202 in the up-counting mode to dynamically signal the end or lastpacket of variable-sized bursts of packets.

Bursts of packets can be transmitted more than once. This can be usefulfor error-detection and/or error-correction purposes. An original burstof packets refers to a first transmission of a burst of packets. A copyburst refers to a re-transmission of an original burst. A receiver 14can use packet indexes 2202, when one or more copies of bursts are beingtransmitted, for uniquely identifying packets 2200 to determine whethera particular original packet has already been correctly received.

FIG. 25 shows next burst indications 2206-1 through 2206-5 for which avalue of 0 indicates that the next burst of packets for a particulardata service will be a copy of a previously transmitted burst. Nextburst indications 2206-1, 2206-2, and 2206-4 have a value of 0, whichindicate that bursts 2500-2, 2500-3, and 2500-5 will be copies ofpreviously transmitted bursts. A value of 1 indicates that the nextburst to be transmitted will be an original burst. For example, nextburst indication 2206-3 has a value of 1, which indicates that the nextburst 2500-4 will be an original burst.

A value for the time to next original time-slice parameter 2208 can beused to specify an amount of time between transmission of a currentpacket and the first-transmitted packet of the next transmitted originalburst of packets from the same data service of the same informationservice provider from which the current packet came. As used herein,transmission may refer to a broadcast, multicast, or unicast, and datacan include, but is not limited to, IP protocol-encoded data. FIG. 26shows first and second original bursts 2600 and 2604 of packets 2200.The value t1 of time to next original 2208-5 represents an amount oftime between transmission of packet 2200-5, also referred to as thecurrent packet, and packet 2200-10, which is the first packet of thenext original burst 2604 from the data service and information serviceprovider of the current packet. Twelve bits can be used to specify thistype of information with a resolution of approximately 10 milliseconds.Similarly, value t1+1 2208-4 indicates an amount of time betweentransmitting packet 2200-4 and packet 2200-10, and value t1+2 2208-3indicates an amount of time between transmitting packet 2200-3 andpacket 2200-10.

If the receiver 14 receives an original burst of packets with errors,the receiver can then power itself up to receive any copy burstscorresponding to the correctly received original burst. If the receiver14 receives an original burst of packets without errors, the receivercan then ignore any copy bursts corresponding to the correctly receivedoriginal burst. Ignoring copy bursts in this manner can include keepingthe receiver powered down during one or more time periods during whichcopy bursts to be ignored could otherwise be received.

A value for the time to next copy parameter 2210 can be used to specifyan amount of time between transmission of a current packet and the firstpacket of the next transmitted copy burst of the current burst ofpackets from the same data service of the same information serviceprovider. FIG. 27 shows an original burst 2700 and a copy burst 2702 ofpackets 2200. The value t2 of time to next copy 2210-5 represents anamount of time between transmission of packet 2200-5, also referred toas the current packet, of original burst 2700 and packet 2200-1 of copyburst 2702, which is the first packet of the next copy burst from thedata service and information service provider of the current packet.Twelve bits can be used to specify this type of information with aresolution of approximately 10 milliseconds. Similarly, value t2+12210-4 indicates an amount of time between transmitting packet 2200-4 oforiginal burst 2700 and packet 2200-1 of copy burst 2702, and value t2+22210-3 indicates an amount of time between transmitting packet 2200-3 oforiginal burst 2700 and packet 2200-1 of copy burst 2702.

As discussed above in connection with the discussion of time to nextoriginal 2208, if the receiver 14 receives an original burst of packetswith errors, the receiver can then power itself up to receive any copybursts corresponding to the correctly received original burst. If thereceiver 14 receives an original burst of packets without errors, thereceiver can then ignore any copy bursts corresponding to the correctlyreceived original burst.

A value for the time to next burst time-slice parameter 2212 can be usedto specify an amount of time between transmission of a current packetand the first packet of the next transmitted burst of packets-regardlessof whether the next burst is an original burst or a copy burst-from thesame data service of the same information service provider. FIG. 28shows an original burst 2800 and a copy burst 2802 of packets 2200. Thevalue t3 of time to next burst 2212-5 represents an amount of timebetween transmission of packet 2200-5, also referred to as the currentpacket, of original burst 2800 and packet 2200-1 of copy burst 2802,which is the first packet of the next copy burst from the data serviceand information service provider of the current packet. Twelve bits canbe used to specify this type of information with a resolution ofapproximately 10 milliseconds. Similarly, value t3+1 2212-4 indicates anamount of time between transmitting packet 2200-4 of original burst 2800and packet 2200-1 of copy burst 2802, and value t3+2 2212-3 indicates anamount of time between transmitting packet 2200-3 of original burst 2800and packet 2200-1 of copy burst 2802. Similarly, the value t4 of time tonext burst 2212-10 represents an amount of time between transmission ofpacket 2200-5, also referred to as the current packet, of copy burst2802 and packet 2200-6 of original burst 2804, which is the first packetof the next original burst 2804 from the data service and informationservice provider of the current packet. Similarly, value t4+1 2212-9indicates an amount of time between transmitting packet 2200-4 of copyburst 2802 and packet 2200-6 of original burst 2804, and value t4+22212-8 indicates an amount of time between transmitting packet 2200-3 ofcopy burst 2802 and packet 2200-6 of original burst 2804.

As discussed above in connection with the discussion of time to nextoriginal 2208 and time to next copy 2210, if the receiver 14 receives anoriginal burst of packets with errors, the receiver can then poweritself up to receive any copy bursts corresponding to the correctlyreceived original burst. Based on time to next burst 2212, however, evenif the receiver 14 receives an original burst of packets without errors,the receiver may need to be powered up for a copy regardless of havingcorrectly received the original burst.

Bursts of packets can be indexed with a time slice index 2214 such thatoriginal bursts are uniquely indexed and copy bursts have the sameindexes as their corresponding original bursts. FIG. 29 shows twooriginal bursts 2900-1 and 2900-4, which have values of 1 and 2 for timeslice indexes 2214-1 and 2214-4. Copy bursts 2900-2 and 2900-3 arecopies of original burst 2900-1. These copy bursts 2900-2 and 2900-3therefore have the same value of 1 for their respective time sliceindexes 2214-2 and 2214-3. Similarly, copy burst 2900-5, which is a copyof original burst 2900-4, has the same time slice index value of 2 asoriginal burst 2900-4.

A time-slice-duration parameter 2216 can be used to indicate how longtransmission of a current burst of packets takes. A receiver 14 can seta timer to shut the receiver off after an amount of time correspondingto the time slice duration 2216 elapses from the beginning of receptionof a burst of packets. Time slice duration 2216 can be specified as a4-bit value in increments of 100 milliseconds. The receiver 14 can alsoshut the receiver off a predetermined amount of time after the beginningof reception of a packet.

A maximum transmission unit (MTU) size parameter 2218 can be used tooptimize receiver memory usage. Values such as 1024, 2048, and 4096kilobytes, as well as other suitable values, can be used for thisparameter.

As mentioned above, various permutations and combinations of thetime-slice parameters 2202-2218 can be used for signaling time-sliceinformation. For instance, an 8-bit packet index 2202 in down-countingmode, a 1-bit next burst indication 2206 that indicates whether the nextburst is an original burst or a copy burst, a 1-bit time-slice boundaryindication 2204 that indicates the beginning of a time slice, a 12-bittime to next burst 2212 having a resolution of 10 milliseconds, and a4-bit time-slice duration having a resolution of 100 milliseconds can beused together to signal time-slice information. If the remainingtime-slice parameters are not used, signaling time-slice informationthis way uses 26 bits. If MPE packet header bytes reserved, but unused,for MAC addressing are used for signaling time-slice information withthe time-slice parameters discussed in this paragraph, 2 MAC addressingbytes would remain available for MAC addressing.

Alternatively, an 8-bit packet index 2202 in down-counting mode, a 1-bitnext burst indication 2206 that indicates whether the next burst is anoriginal burst or a copy burst, a 1-bit time-slice boundary indication2204 that indicates the beginning of a time slice, a 12-bit time to nextoriginal 2208 having a resolution of 10 milliseconds, a 12-bit time tonext copy 2210 having a resolution of 10 milliseconds, and a 4-bittime-slice duration having a resolution of 100 milliseconds can be usedtogether to signal time-slice information. If the remaining time-sliceparameters are not used, signaling time-slice information in this manneruses 38 bits. If MPE packet header bytes reserved, but unused, for MACaddressing are used for signaling time-slice information with thetime-slice parameters discussed in this paragraph, 1 MAC addressing bytewould remain available for MAC addressing.

While the invention has been described with reference to particularembodiments, it will be understood that the invention is by no meanslimited to the particular constructions and methods herein disclosedand/or shown in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications orequivalents within the scope of the claims.

1. A time-slicing digital broadcasting transmitter system comprising: abuffer that receives information from an information service provider;an encapsulator that receives buffered information from the buffer andthat forms at least one packet header that contains time-sliceinformation that includes a time-slice parameter specifying arelationship between a current packet of a current burst of packets anda subsequent burst of packets; and a digital broadcast transmitter thattransmits bursts of packets that include the time-slice information. 2.The time-slicing digital broadcasting transmitter system of claim 1,wherein the time-slice information specifies an amount of time thatelapses between transmission of the current packet and transmission of afirst-transmitted packet of the subsequent burst of packets.
 3. Thetime-slicing digital broadcasting transmitter system of claim 1, whereinthe time-slice information specifies a time-slice duration fortransmitting the current burst of packets.
 4. The time-slicing digitalbroadcasting transmitter system of claim 1, wherein the time-sliceinformation includes a time-slice index for numbering originallytransmitted bursts of packets.
 5. The time-slicing digital broadcastingtransmitter system of claim 1, wherein the buffer is substantially largeenough to store at least two full bursts of data from the informationservice provider and any data to be transmitted between transmission ofthe two full bursts of data.
 6. The time-slicing digital broadcastingtransmitter system of claim 5, wherein the amount of time that elapsesbetween transmitting the current packet and transmitting thefirst-transmitted packet of the subsequent burst is determined based atleast in part upon how many packets will be transmitted betweentransmitting the current packet and transmitting the subsequent packet.7. The time-slicing digital broadcasting transmitter system of claim 2,wherein the amount of time that elapses between transmitting the currentpacket and transmitting the first-transmitted packet of the subsequentburst is determined based at least in part upon an amount oftransmitter-idle time between transmission bursts.
 8. The time-slicingdigital broadcasting transmitter system of claim 1, wherein the buffercomprises a buffer selected from the group consisting of: an elasticbuffer, a first-in, first-out (FIFO) buffer, a ring buffer, and a dualbuffer having separate input and output sections.
 9. The time-slicingdigital broadcasting transmitter system of claim 1, wherein theencapsulator places the time-slice information into lower layer protocolpacket header bits.
 10. The time-slicing digital broadcastingtransmitter system of claim 9, wherein the lower layer protocol is DVBDSM-CC section protocol.
 11. The time-slicing digital broadcastingtransmitter system of claim 10, wherein the time-slice information isplaced into at least one byte reserved, but not used, for media accesscontrol addressing.
 12. The time-slicing digital broadcastingtransmitter system of claim 1, wherein the time-slice informationincludes a down-counting packet index for a plurality of packets withinthe current burst of packets.
 13. The time-slicing digital broadcastingtransmitter system of claim 1, wherein the time-slice informationincludes a time slice boundary indication that indicates whether thecurrent packet is a first-transmitted packet of the current burst ofpackets.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the time-slice informationis contained in an adaptation field of a transport stream packet. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein the transport stream packet comprises anMPEG II transport stream packet.
 16. A mobile terminal that receivestime-slicing digital broadcast information, the mobile terminalcomprising: a digital broadcast receiver that receives bursts of packetsthat include time-slice information and that have been transmitted by adigital broadcast transmitter; a buffer that receives time-sliceinformation; and an application processor that receives bufferedtime-slice information from the buffer and that decodes the bufferedtime-slice information thereby extracting information that specifies arelationship between a current packet of a current burst of packets anda subsequent burst of packets.
 17. The mobile terminal of claim 16,wherein the time-slice information includes a down-counting packet indexfor a plurality of packets within the current burst of packets.
 18. Themobile terminal of claim 17, wherein the time-slice information includesa time slice boundary indication that indicates whether the currentpacket is a first-transmitted packet of the current burst of packets.19. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein the time-slice informationincludes an up-counting packet index for a plurality of packets withinthe current burst of packets.
 20. The mobile terminal of claim 19,wherein the time-slice information includes a time slice boundaryindication that indicates whether the current packet is alast-transmitted packet of the current burst of packets.
 21. The mobileterminal of claim 16, wherein the time-slice information includes a nextburst indication that indicates whether the subsequent burst of packetsis an original burst or a copy burst.
 22. The mobile terminal of claim16, wherein the time-slice information includes an indication of anamount of time between receiving the current packet and a first-receivedpacket of the subsequent burst of packets.
 23. The mobile terminal ofclaim 16, wherein the time-slice information is decoded from lower layerprotocol packet header bits.
 24. The mobile terminal of claim 23,wherein the lower layer protocol is DVB DSM-CC section protocol.
 25. Themobile terminal of claim 24, wherein the time-slice information isdecoded from at least one byte reserved, but not used, for media accesscontrol addressing.
 26. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein thetime-slice information is contained in an adaptation field of atransport stream packet.
 27. The mobile terminal of claim 26, whereinthe transport stream packet comprises an MPEG II transport streampacket.
 28. A time-slicing digital broadcasting system comprising: adigital broadcast transmitter system that transmits bursts of packetsthat include information from at least one data service of at least oneinformation service provider and that include time-slice informationthat specifies a relationship between a current packet of a currentburst of packets and a subsequent burst of packets; and a digitalbroadcast receiver system that receives the bursts of packets and thatdecodes the time-slice information thereby extracting information thatspecifies the relationship between the current packet and the subsequentburst of packets.
 29. The time-slicing digital broadcasting system ofclaim 28, wherein the time-slice information includes an indication ofan amount of time between transmitting the current packet and afirst-transmitted packet of the subsequent burst of packets.
 30. Thetime-slicing digital broadcasting system of claim 29, wherein thesubsequent burst of packets is a copy of the current burst of packets.31. The time-slicing digital broadcasting system of claim 28, whereinthe transmitter comprises an encapsulator that places the time-sliceinformation into lower layer protocol packet header bits.
 32. Thetime-slicing digital broadcasting system of claim 31, wherein the lowerlayer protocol is DVB DSM-CC section protocol.
 33. The time-slicingdigital broadcasting system of claim 32, wherein the time-sliceinformation is placed into at least one byte reserved, but not used, formedia access control addressing.
 34. The time-slicing digitalbroadcasting system of claim 28, wherein the time-slice information iscontained in an adaptation field of a transport stream packet.
 35. Thetime-slicing digital broadcasting system of claim 34, wherein thetransport stream packet comprises an MPEG II transport stream packet.36. A method of transmitting time-slicing digital broadcast information,the method comprising: buffering information received from at leastinformation service provider; and forming packets including the bufferedinformation and packet headers that contain time-slice information thatspecifies a plurality of relationships between a plurality of packets ofa current burst of packets and a subsequent burst of packets.
 37. Themethod of claim 36, wherein the time-slice information specifies aplurality of different amounts of time between transmitting a pluralityof packets of the current burst and transmitting a first-transmittedpacket of the subsequent burst.
 38. The method of claim 36, wherein thetime-slice information specifies a plurality of different packet indexesfor a plurality of packets of the current burst.
 39. The method of claim36, wherein the time-slice information specifies whether the subsequentburst is a copy of the current burst.
 40. The method of claim 36,wherein the time-slice information specifies a duration of the currentburst.
 41. The method of claim 36, wherein the time-slice information isplaced into lower layer protocol packet header bits.
 42. The method ofclaim 41, wherein the lower layer protocol is DVB DSM-CC sectionprotocol.
 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the time-slice informationis placed into at least one byte reserved, but not used, for mediaaccess control addressing.
 44. The method of claim 36, wherein thetime-slice information is contained in an adaptation field of atransport stream packet.
 45. The method of claim 44, wherein thetransport stream packet comprises an MPEG II transport stream packet.46. A method of receiving time-slicing digital broadcast information,the method comprising: receiving bursts of packets that includetime-slice information and that have been transmitted by a digitalbroadcast transmitter, wherein the time-slice information specifies arelationship between a current packet of a current burst of packets anda subsequent burst of packets; buffering the time-slice information; anddecoding the buffered time-slice information to extract information thatspecifies the relationship between the current packet and the subsequentburst of packets.
 47. The method of claim 46, wherein the time-sliceinformation specifies an amount of time between transmitting the currentpacket and transmitting the first-transmitted packet of the subsequentburst.
 48. The method of claim 46, wherein the time-slice information isdecoded from lower layer protocol packet header bits.
 49. The method ofclaim 48, wherein the lower layer protocol is DVB DSM-CC sectionprotocol.
 50. The method of claim 49, wherein the time-slice informationis decoded from at least one byte that is reserved, but not used, formedia access control addressing.
 51. The method of claim 46, wherein thetime-slice information is contained in an adaptation field of atransport stream packet.
 52. The method of claim 51, wherein thetransport stream packet comprises an MPEG II transport stream packet.53. A computer-readable medium containing computer-executableinstructions for transmitting time-slicing digital broadcast informationby performing the steps recited in claim
 36. 54. A computer-readablemedium containing computer-executable instructions for transmittingtime-slicing digital broadcast information by performing the stepsrecited in claim
 37. 55. A computer-readable medium containingcomputer-executable instructions for transmitting time-slicing digitalbroadcast information by performing the steps recited in claim
 41. 56. Acomputer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions fortransmitting time-slicing digital broadcast information by performingthe steps recited in claim
 42. 57. A computer-readable medium containingcomputer-executable instructions for transmitting time-slicing digitalbroadcast information by performing the steps recited in claim
 43. 58. Acomputer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions forreceiving time-slicing digital broadcast information by performing thesteps recited in claim
 47. 59. A computer-readable medium containingcomputer-executable instructions for receiving time-slicing digitalbroadcast information by performing the steps recited in claim
 48. 60. Acomputer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions forreceiving time-slicing digital broadcast information by performing thesteps recited in claim
 49. 61. A computer-readable medium containingcomputer-executable instructions for receiving time-slicing digitalbroadcast information by performing the steps recited in claim 50.